“A well regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” That’s all the Second Amendment states. Fearing a national army, the Founders believed each state should provide armed men for the common defense. Those armed men were part of their State and local militias. And in the two hundred years since, “we had gun laws in towns and states, governing everything from where gunpowder could be stored to who could carry a weapon—and courts overwhelmingly upheld these restrictions. Gun rights and gun control were seen as going hand in hand.” The Supreme Court declined to rule that the Second Amendment protected individual gun ownership four times between 1876 and 1939. There were 46 justices who sat on the Court during that time, including six different Chief Justices.

A decade later, gun control measures were still possible in the U.S., although opposition was considerable. The Brady Bill, enacted in 1993, required individuals to undergo a background check before they could purchase a firearm from a federally licensed dealer or manufacturer (with many exceptions). Originally proposed in 1987, the law was vigorously opposed by the NRA. In 1997, however, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Brady Bill.

Then in 1994, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban was enacted, of which the main provision was “to make unlawful the transfer or possession of assault weapons.” An assault weapon was defined by the law and specific models were listed. All challenges to the ban were rejected by the courts, but following its sunset provision, the bill was not renewed in 2004, or since.

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Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Warren Burger (1969-1986), spoke on the Second Amendment and in favor of gun control in a 1990 interview. Burger said,

In the 1789 debate in Congress…Elbridge Gerry argued that a state militia was necessary: “to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty…Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia in order to raise an army upon their ruins.” We see that the need for a state militia was the predicate of the “right” guaranteed; in short, it was declared “necessary” in order to have a state military force to protect the security of the state….A huge national defense establishment has taken over the role of the militia of 200 years ago.

Burger’s review of history makes perfect sense, but few opponents of gun control measures will agree with his statements. Burger, in the interview, also said,

Americans should ask themselves a few questions. The Constitution does not mention automobiles or motorboats, but the right to keep and own an automobile is beyond question; equally beyond question is the power of the state to regulate the purchase or the transfer of such a vehicle and the right to license the vehicle and the driver with reasonable standards. In some places, even a bicycle must be registered, as must some household dogs.

But then in 2008, 30 years after the NRA began their political lobbying push, the case of District of Columbia v. Heller was heard in the same Court where Burger once sat. The Court’s decision, overturning over 200 years of history, ruled that “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” However, what the NRA will have us ignore is that the Court also ruled, “Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.”

So here we are: assault weapons are not banned, and a variety of modifications and accessories make “recreational” firearms as deadly as military weaponry. Almost anyone can legally buy one. Why are guns an exception to regulation? Why is it that “the domestic tranquility is not being preserved, nor are the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness mentioned in the Declaration of Independence,” as Burger asked. Why is this tyranny of guns allowed?

I place the blame completely on the NRA. Their switch from a focus on gun safety and recreational use to political lobbying and a policy of multiple guns for all has brought us to this place. Their money and propaganda continues to destroy our society for their own financial benefit. The NRA has brought us here. It has brought terror to our schools, movie theaters, and other social and public places. It has brought death and destruction to small towns and large cities alike. There’s no reason to continue to hold fruitless discussions. The NRA is a terrorist organization – the definition fits – and the U.S. government should label it as one, and shut it down. And guns, like nearly everything else in the U.S., should be strictly regulated.